News
Korean Film Night Takes Place at 71st Cannes Film Festival
KOFIC Offers Memorials to KIM Ji-seok and Pierre RISSIENT
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) staged its annual Korean Film Night at the 71st edition of the Cannes Film Festival this past weekend. The event kicked off at 9:30 pm in the Vegaluna Lounge along the Croisette on the night of Sunday, May 13.
The recently appointed KOFIC Chairman OH Seok Geun took to the stage to offer a memorial both for KIM Ji-seok , the Deputy Director at the Busan International Film Festival, and Pierre RISSIENT, the influential producer and publicist who was a well-known figure at Cannes. KIM, who passed away following a heart attack while attending last year’s Cannes Film Festival, was celebrated with a photo montage leading from his early years to his time as a figurehead for Asian cinema at the Busan International Film Festival.
RISSIENT, who passed on just a few days before this years’ edition of Cannes, had played a large part in introducing Korean cinema to the world, promoting filmmakers such as IM Kwon-taek , Hong Sangsoo and LEE Chang-dong. He was honored with words of mourning sent via video from Korea, from director IM Kwon-taek , also through the message of condolence from DO Jong-hwan, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Korean guests in attendance included KIM Cheol-hwi , the director of the short film Exemplary Citizen in the Critics’ Week sidebar, actor YOO Teo, who features in the Russian Cannes competition title Leto, in which he plays real-life musician Viktor TSOI, Busan International Film Festival director Jay JEON, Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFan) chairman CHOI Yong-bae and KIM Hong-joon , the artistic Director of the Chungmuro International Musical Film Festival.
600 representatives from the global film industry also took part in the event, such as Christian JEUNE, the Deputy General Delegate at the Cannes Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival director Alberto BARBERA, Udine Far East Film Festival Chairwoman Sabrina BARACETTI and Christoph TERHECHTE, the head of the Berlin International Film Festival’s Forum section, among many others.
The Korean Film Council has also been running the ‘Korean Film Center’ pavilion at the Marché du Film during the Cannes Film Festival, where it has been facilitating exchanges between Korean and global filmmakers and supporting the Korean films in selection this year, such as LEE Chang-dong’ BURNING in ‘Competition’, YOON Jong-bin’s The Spy Gone North in ‘Midnight Screenings’ and the aforementioned short Exemplary Citizen.
